Question for Apple/Mac Aficianadoes

[roo_ster]

Q_01:
Do Mac laptops still come with the funky magnetic power plug?

Q_02:
Which was the first Intel Mac laptop?  Did it come with the magnet-plug?  Is it easy to install linux on it?

Background:
SWMBO has done it again: tripped over the laptop power brick/cord and rendered her lappy useless (IBM Thinkpad T41 bought refurbed).  The power interface dealie has loosened and will no longer make the power connection.  This is the second laptop SWMBO has done this to, batting 1.000 on this method for laptop whacking.

FTR, I am NOT good with a soldering iron, despite several attempts to get handy with one.  A neighbor currently has her first lappy and is working on fixing it at his leisure.

I want a laptop that is pretty much "trip over the cord and fubar's the power connection"-proof.  I thought that perhaps a used Toughbook, but they would likely end up the same.  A used intel Mac laptop seems a logical way to go.

[charby]

Q_01:
Do Mac laptops still come with the funky magnetic power plug?

Q_02:
Which was the first Intel Mac laptop?  Did it come with the magnet-plug?  Is it easy to install linux on it?

A1: Yes
A2: Came with magnet plug. Can't remember the year, probably late 2006/early 2007. Easy to install linux, so I have heard. I've only done dual boot with Mac os and XP using Parallels.

[red headed stranger]

All of the Intel Mac Laptops come with the magsafe connector.  With a 15-month-old boy running around our house, my bacon has been saved by this feature a few times.  The first Intel laptops were introduced in the first part of 2006 with the core duo processors (32 bit).  Later in the year they added the core 2 duo processors. (64-bit!).  


I can't tell ya too much about Linux distros on the macs.  I had Ubuntu running just fine on my 2.16 GHz Core Duo Macbook Pro for a few months.  I eventually went to a dual boot OSX/Vista for work reasons.  


If you don't need the dedicated graphics card of the Macbook pro, I would recommend the Macbook, as it is super easy to do hard drive upgrades on the macbook vs. the macbook pro.  

[Kwelz]

Looks like everyone beat me to it.  However as a point of order, the new Macbook pros have the same hard Drive replacement system as the old Macbooks.